20

“Stay…”

“I can’t”

“Why? So wonderful was your life back there? If it’s because of her… you have me here too. I can love you the same way as her… even more…”

It’d be so bad to stay?

After their conversation, Yossi was worried. What would happen if they couldn’t go back home? They had to stay in that hostile world, surrounded by monsters and wondering when would be their last day. But it was that so bad when she could have her love in return?

No… I can’t…

Yossi shook her head trying to clear her mind. It wasn’t good to think about that. The last she needed it was to be so damn confused. That’s why she should leave as soon as possible and why she was at Konno’s door right now.

She knocked and Konkon opened the door, letting her in before going back to her work.

“Where’s Kaoru?” the taller looked around the room but she didn’t find her.

“She’s on my bed. I sent her to have some sleep”

“To sleep? Why?”

“Kaoru have spent the last two nights awake, you didn’t know it?”

“No…”

“She’s been worried about you… about how you’re feeling with all this”

“I didn’t know…”

No, she didn’t know it. Yossi had been paying so much attention to Ishikawa’s problem, Yuko, Aya… that she didn’t noticed Kaoru. The girl was probably as scared as Yossi with the whole situation. She’d been travelling, but never stuck in one of those unknown worlds. And even so, she was still worried about her. Yoshizawa felt really guilty, thinking just about her own problems and forgetting the younger.

“She’s a good girl” said Asami with a smile while she was taking a little screwdriver from her desk “She has the same aura as her mom”

“She told you?” asked a surprised Yoshizawa.

“It’s not so difficult to see, you know? It’s in her eyes…” Konkon put the screwdriver on the table again and took the tongs, watching carefully to not damage anything “Besides…”

Suddenly, Konno stopped what she was doing, left the tongs and took the machine with both hands, raising it to the level of her eyes to watch it nearer.

“You’ve found something?!” Yossi’s hopes seemed to reborn when she saw the shining in Konkon’s eyes.

“I don’t know. Can you bring me Kaoru’s computer? There’re some notes that I need to check there. It’s in her bag”

Yossi nodded and went towards the bag, which its owner had left in a corner of the room. She grabbed it and took the thin folder from the inside, leaving the bag again on the floor, but when she was going to go back to Konkon’s desk, something fell at her side. Yoshizawa leant to pick it up and was going to leave it again inside the bag when something caught her attention.

That’s my writing?

‘To Rika’

“Something’s wrong?” asked Asami turning her head to look at Yossi.

“It’s ok…” said the older waving her hand “Just something fell…”

Konno went back to her work and Yossi looked at the envelope in her hand.

“If you don’t mind…” she said giving the younger the computer she asked for and walking towards the door “…I’ll be back later. I have something to do…”

The door closed behind her leaving Konkon a bit confused. Being already outside, Yossi leant against the wall and took the envelope that she’d hidden in her pocket.

***

What a strange feeling…

Miki had her eyes shut, hearing carefully every little sound that reached her ears, especially, the breathing coming from the girl in her arms.

Weird. That’s how she felt, but in peace too, as if being there, seated and leaning against the rough trunk of that tree, Aya with her.., was everything that she needed to exist. That, of course, didn’t make disappear the fact that they’d been only three days together, almost all the time arguing. Too fast, too sudden, too… deep.

She was trying to make her head clear about those feelings when she felt a hand caressing her right cheek. She knew what Matsuura was thinking when the younger’s index began to follow the line of the scar. Miki knew that, soon or later, Aya was going to ask her. Everybody did it before, it was the first thing that people always asked her, but she never answered.

“My mom”

Raising her head in surprise, Aya looked at the older who was still with her eyes closed. She thought that Miki was asleep and that’s why she dared to do it, but now, the sudden words, had cough her off guard.

“Sorry, I…”

She was going to remove her hand quickly, but Fujimoto took it with hers and made it rest in her cheek again.

“It’s ok” said Miki opening her eyes slowly and smiling gently at Aya “I guess it’s time to tell someone”

Aya felt a shiver travelling through her body and wondered if it was because it was getting cold already or if the true cause was the loneliness in Miki’s voice, that sorrowful tone and distant look reflecting a past full of sadness.

“I had a sister too…” began to say Miki “…five years older than me and my mom’s pride. She was beautiful, talented, strong… I was nothing compared to her, no more than a scared brat that can’t do anything more than run and hide herself” the older lowered her head and looked at Aya, caressing her soft skin with the reverse of her right hand “But she loved me…” continued “…and I loved her more than anything else in this world”

“You said your mom…”

“My father died a few years before the earthquake and, since then, Mom put all her hopes in my sister and never really paid attention to me. I guess that’s why it wasn’t so shocking when it happened. After all, her favourite daughter had died to save the useless and cry-baby kid that she never wanted”

“She…”

Aya couldn’t say it. The words chocked in her throat unable to believe what Miki was telling her.

“She tried it” finished Fujimoto, understanding what the younger was trying to ask “But hey, I was a slippery midget and I ended just with this awful present in my face”

“But why? Why a mother would want to do something so…”

“I guess pain changes people. She changed, she went mad and tried to forget that I’d ever existed, but I changed too…”

“You became a touching demon obsessed with girls?”

Fujimoto laughed and Aya felt a bit relieved. She knew what Miki meant but seeing her hurting herself remembering her past it was making Aya feel her own pain again. She couldn’t let that happen, not after how well things seemed to be going between them.

“We should go back” said Miki looking at the horizon “It’s getting dark”

***

I shouldn’t…

The letter was in her hands, still closed. She was dealing with an internal fight, trying to restrain herself from reading it when she was dying to know what it was written inside.

‘To Rika’

She read again. No doubt it was her writing, but she never wrote it. Probably it was the other Hitomi, the one from Kaoru’s world… A letter to her mom…

Yossi stared at the corridor for a moment, making sure that there was no one else there and then she opened it.

“Just a look...”

‘Rika…

I’m sorry, I know I told you that I’d be there tomorrow but I can’t go back.

I can’t go home… Something’s happening here, something related to the project. People are acting weird since that new boss came. Even Asami’s nervous all day. I don’t like that man. He’s asking too many questions… I guess is his work, but the way he looks at us, the way he wants to participate in every move we take…, I don’t know. Until yesterday I thought it was just me, but Miki told me that she had suspicions about him too and then, this morning… her patrol hasn’t come back. The base lost their signal and we’re still waiting for news. I have to be ready with Maki and Mai to leave at any moment for a rescue mission. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m almost sure that this isn’t a coincidence…

I’m worried… worried and scared ‘cause I have this feeling telling me that we have to be careful. I think I wouldn’t send you this letter if it wasn’t because of Mako-chan. She’s the only one I trust enough…’

“Yossi!”

Yuko called her from the other side of the corridor and Yoshizawa put the letter in her pocket again as quickly as she could. The leader was running towards her with a worried look on her face.

“You’ve seen Miki?”

“No” answered a clueless Yocchan.

“Shit! That girl always disappears at the worst moments…”

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s no time now. We have to find them first”

***

“This is weird”

“What?”

“You, taking my hand like this…” Miki looked at their entwined hands while they where walking back to the refuge. Aya stopped and stared at her obviously hurt.

“If it’s so weird you can let go…” she said releasing Fujimoto’s hand almost with angry.

“No! What I mean is… Come on.., three days? It’s pretty fast for falling in love you know?”

“I’ve never said that I’ve fallen for you” Matsuura began to walk again, hiding her face from Miki, trying to avoid that the other girl could see the blush in her cheeks and denying whatever thought about what Miki’d said. That’s impossible. Love? No way. Never. No.

“You know you’re already mad about me…” insisted the older, surprising Aya from behind when she took her hand again.

“HA! Keep dreaming Fujimoto. You’re the one mad about me”

Miki pouted, Aya laughed and made the older pouted even more. They’d reached the door already.

“Someday I’ll kill you…” said Fujimoto in her desperation while she let the younger enter the complex first.

“You’ll try it” corrected Matsuura “Besides..., without me you’d get bored the first minute”

“You irritate me” said the older, closing the door and moving towards the other girl that was waiting for her already inside.

“And you exhaust my patience”

Aya surrounded Miki’s waist and attracted her, the other girl couldn't fight her words back. She loved to win, and even more, to win over Miki. It was a way to show the older that she wasn’t going to let her do whatever she wanted with her.

“Just three days and…” began to say Fujimoto leaning to found the other girl’s lips.

“Mmm..?”

“…I…”

“Miki!”

The girl almost had a heart attack when she heard Risa shouting her name. She was running towards them. Such a bad moment to interrupt.

“What?” asked Fujimoto obviously pissed off.

“Nakazawa… trying… find you…” Niigaki stopped, trying to recover some air.

“What does she wants know?”

“Her friends…” answered the younger pointing at Aya “…trouble… hurry!”

To be continued...

Labels: Traveler